The Secrets and Scandals of Disney, Pixar And Their Beloved Films
When Disney Was King
Before Pixar, Disney was a powerhouse. Recovering from a rough patch through the '80s, Disney emerged with hit after hit when Michael Eisner and the studio brought on Jeffrey Katzenberg. Disney produced what are now classics, such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. However, Eisner and Katzenberg couldn't maintain their success, and the quality of the films started to wane.
Eisner, who was known for not being the easiest to work for, created a demanding work environment that was difficult for animators. As Disney started to fail, Pixar was thriving, with hits such as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo. Audiences loved the light-hearted humor and modern forms of computer animation. Of course, Disney would eventually acquire Pixar.
Katzenberg and DreamWorks
But back then, Disney's bad luck continued when Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney in 1994, after top Disney executive Frank Wells was killed in a tragic helicopter accident. Michael Eisner chose not to promote Katzenberg into the vacant position, and rather than hold his original post, Katzenberg decided to move on. He formed what is now DreamWorks Studios with Stephen Spielberg.
The studio, which is now known for animated films such as Shrek, was supposed to be a small project for the creators, who were already very successful industry executives. The studio went on to release films such as Amistad and The Peacemaker, a far cry from Disney's squeaky clean content. Ironically, DreamWorks was also eventually acquired by Disney.
DreamWorks Versus Pixar
Before Disney bought it, DreamWorks got into a scuffle when Disney/Pixar Studios released very similar films around the same time as DreamWorks. The movies, which were about the secret lives of insects, raised a few eyebrows because the similar David and Goliath type plots. It was peculiar how similar they were in nature...no pun intended.
Both films had an ant as the main character and featured that character overcoming the wishes of his anthill with innovative, out of the box thinking. Both characters fall in love with a princess, and go against a hostile enemy, to eventually save the ant colony from ruin. The films were released a month apart from each other in the fall of 1998.
The Road to El Dorado and The Emperor's New Groove
After the Antz and A Bug's Life debacle, the two studios continued to battle it out by again releasing similar films in the same time period. In 2000, the studios both released animated films that drew from history and foreign cultures. The Road to El Dorado and The Emperor's New Groove were far from the best work of either studio would ever do, but the similarities were striking.
Both featured two heroic main characters that offered plenty of comic relief. Both films also had high-profile actors voicing the roles, with Kevin Kline starring in The Road to El Dorado, and David Spade and John Goodman in The Emperor's New Groove.
Shrek and Monsters, Inc
The next feud between the two studios ultimately produced some of their best and most beloved work. In 2001 came films about lovable, zany creatures. Pixar released Monsters Inc, a movie about the monsters hiding in children's closets and the reasons behind it, with John Goodman and Billy Crystal voicing the main characters, Sully and Mike.
DreamWorks Studios released Shrek, which had Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow in starring roles. It was definitely the studio's most popular film, and was as well-received as Pixar's Monsters Inc. The film's popularity resulted in the studio spurring sequels and shorts created to further tell the story of Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey.
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo, which was an instant hit, was another fan favorite. Finding Nemo was Pixar's best work since Toy Story, and audiences loved the Odyssey quest meets under the sea adventure. The film was released in 2003 and in hoping to capture some of the same excitement and popularity, DreamWorks made an aquatic attempt with their 2004 movie, Shark Tale.
Although it was box-office hit, Shark Tale failed to capture the essence of Finding Nemo. The animated film had an all-star cast including Will Smith, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, and even Martin Scorsese, but it didn't even remotely touch the audience success of Finding Nemo, which fans still rave about. Finding Nemo went on to have a sequel, Finding Dory, that brought fans back to experience Ellen Degeneres as the lovable, goofy Dory.
Madagascar
DreamWorks made another attempt with a film with zany animals with their 2005 hit, Madagascar - and they were very successful. Madagascar, which featured the voices of Jada Pinkett-Smith, (ironic, as her husband Will Smith had been in Shark Tale), as well as Friends alum David Schwimmer, Ben Stiller, and Chris Rock, was quickly embraced by audiences.
The film has inspired an array of other shorter films centered around the movie's penguin characters, as well as a sequel, Madagascar 2. Disney tried to gain the same kind of success with The Wild, which borrowed many aspects from Madagascar, in terms of plot and story line, but weren't successful in resonating with audiences.
Ratatouille
Disney struck back with now fan favorite Ratatouille in 2007, which followed DreamWorks' 2006 lackluster animated film Flushed Away. Flushed Away, which centered on a pair of mice venturing down into the sewer, was a British-American comedy, which may have alienated younger viewers. Although Flushed Away wasn't very successful in gaining interest in rodents, Ratatouille was an instant hit with audiences.
Kids loved the concept of Remi, the culinary mouse, who was training himself to be a chef while working in a french kitchen alongside an unfortunately untalented cook. Something about the buddy comedy of Flushed Away failed to have a similar effect, giving Disney the win for this particular round.
Disney Drama
In addition to the competition with DreamWorks, and the drawbacks of initially sticking with less than modern forms of animation and story-telling, Disney Animation Studios struggled after the rumors of inappropriate comments and illustrations appearing in their older films. What is sometimes chalked up to being an internet hoax, has actually been proved in countless articles and posts pointing out the subtle, yet very questionable content.
The content can be found in an array of Disney classics, including films such as Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and The Rescuers Down Under. Many bloggers and journalists have blamed it on subliminal messaging, while others point to animators looking to get a good laugh.
Aladdin
In Disney's Aladdin, the story follows a peasant who is down on his luck, but happens to meet and fall in love with a princess, is one of the films that bloggers have uncovered inappropriate scenes in. In an older version of the film, audiences swore they heard a line that said, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes." Although Disney didn't admit to this, they did change the line in newer releases.
In an opening scene of Aladdin, where a merchant is telling the story of the magic golden lamp, he accidentally pulls up a bong. It's clearly a bong, and the character even alludes to it, before stuffing it away among his other wares.
The Little Mermaid
Another scene that had audiences looking twice was in The Little Mermaid, in multiple parts of the movie. In the first questionable scene, audiences swore that the bishop in the wedding scene was aroused. There's a clear bump in his pants, but animators were quick to point out that it was actually his knee cap.
In another part of The Little Mermaid, viewers pointed out a phallic looking tower in Ariel's father's golden palace. This was a little more difficult for Disney to explain, and they eventually blamed it on mere coincidence. For years, rumors swirled around that it was the work of an animator that was going to be terminated by the company, seeking revenge.
The Lion King
In The Lion King, Disney had another incident where audiences swore that they saw the word "SEX" written out in stars in the sky. Eagle eyed viewers have cut the scene out of the film, pointing out how it's clearly saying this, but Disney still defends it's position of coincidence and playfully blames the pervy imagination of fans.
Disney even went as far to claim that the "SEX" phrasing was actually meant to say, "SFX" to pay tribute to the special effects crew on the film. This seems less believable. Isn't that what movie credits are for? It's also difficult to buy that the notoriously difficult Michael Eisner would agree to such an obvious shout-out.
The Rise of Pixar
So yes, audiences loved Pixar films. Toy Story, the first big Pixar hit, introduced fans to beloved characters such as Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Pixar even went a step further by casting high-profile actors such as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen to voice the characters, connecting with parents and teens who recognized them from Home Improvement and Forrest Gump.
This was during a time when Disney was stuck in it's old ways. They depended mostly on professional voice actors who the audience wasn't familiar with and kept releasing films that used their traditional animation. The audience, now keen on Pixar's computer animation and creative stories, weren't interested.
Pixar's Inspiration
Surprisingly enough, Pixar drew a ton of inspiration from Disney's story-telling tactics. Well, sort of. Pixar credits Disney by citing their resistance to adapt Disney’s framework, plot-lines, and other narrative tactics. As a result, Pixar films don't have songs or musical numbers, don't center around love stories, and don't prominently feature a villain, though we're not sure who Sid from Toy Story was supposed to be, then.
Although they probably wouldn't admit it, Pixar did start hiding Easter eggs in their films. Similar to Disney, some Pixar characters pop up in films they're not supposed to be in, such as a Buzz Lightyear toy in Finding Nemo, as well as Tangled characters making their way into Frozen (though Disney technically owned Pixar at that point).
Disney's Inspiration
Although many of Disney's earlier films are known to be based on grim fairy tales, the studio has a long history of being accused of stealing ideas from lesser known story-tellers and writers. For example, Kimba the White Lion, an anime show, found striking similarities between their animation and The Lion King. Disney denied any wrongdoing.
For Mary Poppins, Disney actually created the film based on a series of stories. Apparently, the creator hated the Disney adaptation and refused to let them do any additional adaptations after that. Disney also drew inspiration from real-life people. Aladdin is modeled after actor Tom Cruise and MC Hammer, and Ursula was based off drag queen Divine.
The End of Eisner
When Eisner left Disney, new management team Edwin Catmull and John Lasseter were left with the challenge to revive Disney Animation. The two started following Pixar's model, encouraging creativity within the workplace. The two let the staff approach them with new ideas, which eventually helped them break out of the Disney rut. As a result, Disney Animation created hits such as Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, and most recent audience favorite, Frozen.
Today, of course, Catmull and Lasseter now run both studios, after Disney acquired Pixar. But the two companies remain separate, continuing to release beloved movies with catchy songs and well-known actors voicing the parts.
Money, Money, Money
The behind-the-scenes action at Disney and Pixar Studios isn't pretty, however. The selfish actions of some greedy Pixar/Disney executives are a stark contrast to the feel-good, family friendly films they produce. The two studios, along with a handful of other animation companies, actually conspired with each other to intentionally keep salaries low for their employees. This was not only to save them money, but to prevent them from finding better opportunities elsewhere.
In exchange, all of the studios continued to make great films on expansive budgets, as they were stiffing their own staff of their hard-earned income. The conspiracy became public knowledge when DreamWorks Animation character effects artist Robert Nitsch sued.
Silicon Valley Secrets
Further investigations revealed that Pixar President Edwin Catmull entered into agreements with his competitors in order to retain employees, as well. Catmull, who didn't see any wrongdoing, has insisted that he was just trying to help the animation industry. His statements resulted in more backlash against the studios.
Other high-profile tech companies, such as Google and Apple, have also participated in questionable tactics to retain employees and keep wages low. Apparently, many tech companies have entered agreements to not poach each others' employees, or even hire them.
Lucasfilm and Sony
The extent of Pixar's manipulation went even further when Sony broke into the animation business. Sony, who hired one of Lucasfilm's best employees, Jill Culton, unintentionally exposed that Lucasfilm and Pixar had also had a secret agreement. The agreement enabled both companies to not only discourage staffers from going to a competitor, but to only give them raises when they tried to leave.
Emails between then CEO Steve Jobs and Catmull show that Catmull was growing increasingly concerned with Sony going rogue and poaching employees, pointing out that the studios needed to "nip this in the bud" before it got out of their control.
Disney and Pixar Today
Despite the scandals, disagreements and competition over the years, Disney Pixar films are now some of the most popular in film history. Parents, children, teens and young adults alike have grown up with new, progressive classics such as The Incredibles, WALL-E, Inside Out and Brave, which all have actually brought up social and cultural issues into their plots.
Most recently, Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars films in its most prominent acquisition ever. There are plans for more films, which of course, started with 2016's release of The Force Awakens. Perhaps, just like it did with Pixar, Disney will rediscover it's ingenuity, and find a new way to connect with audiences with Lucasfilms and the Star Wars universe.
